The Course Of True Love
by Piper Emerald
Summary: "The course of true love never did run smooth." Hatter said, forcing a small smile. Jack tried to say something, but there was nothing more to say. Oneshot, (I own absolutely nothing.)


"We're not meant to be together", Jack said, holding back tears

"Why?" Hatter asked stubbornly, too afraid to admit that he was right.

"It's common sense. We both are destined to play a part in Alice's life, but we can't do that if we are together."

"Who says that we have to listen to destiny?" Hatter was shaking, she didn't know what she would do with out Jack.

"Listen to yourself! You know that I'm right." Jack didn't want to fight. He was foolish to have thought that he could have ended things with out upsetting her. "Hatter, I'm sorry but-"

"Do you love me?" Her eyes met his as she asked this.

"What...?"

"Do you love me? If there was no Alice, would you want to be with me?" Jack closed his eyes, he hadn't expected her to ask this. He didn't want to tell her the truth, but he couldn't lie to her. Lying would only hurt the both of them.

"Yes", he finally managed to say. "But that doesn't matter-"

"No", she raised a hand to silence him. "That's the only thing that matters. Jack if the world says that we can't be together, then, believe me, I will fight the world. I can't live without you."

"I can't doom you to a life of having to fight who we both are meant to be."

"The course of true love never did run smooth." Hatter said, forcing a small smile. Jack tried to say something, but there was nothing more to say.

* * *

"What are we going to do?" Hatter asked Jack the first moment that they had alone. She didn't expect that they the rest of the tea party would notice their absence for a good five minutes. Alice was to busy talking to The Queen and Morris was to busy trying to look innocent.

"We'll figure it out", Jack said, pulling her close. "It's going to be ok, I promise."

"Maybe you were right. Maybe this is wrong."

"Don't say that. We haven't come this far to end up where we started from."

"You're a hero and I'm a villain." Hatter studied the ground, not wanting Jack to see how close she was to tears.

"Wait", his eyes lit up. "Maybe that's it!"

"What?" Hatter looked at him, not sure what he was talking about.

"I have an idea."

* * *

"It's working", Jack said the moment the door closed, leaving the two alone. Jack and his companions had just been captured, Hatter was grateful that her wanting to have a private word with Jack didn't look suspicious.

"Jack, this is risky. You're not hurt, are you?" She asked, her voice full of concern.

"No, I'm fine."

"What if one of my guards had decided to kill you instead of taking you prisoner?"

"Then I pity him, for he'd have you to answer to."

"This isn't funny", Hatter chided. "You've never been beyond the looking glass, you don't know what it's like her."

"I'm sure where we're headed will be far worse, but it won't matter because we're going to be together."

"I love you", she whispered. He was willing to give up everything that he had ever worked for, just so they could be together.

"I love you, too." The two of them shared a sweet moment, before forcing themselves back to reality. "Listen to me, if The Queen decided to kill you instead of banishing you, I promise I'll get you out of there, but you're going to have to do exactly as I say."

"I'm not leaving you behind. And she's not going to execute me."

"I'm just saying, that on the slim chance-"

"Fine, I promise that, for once in my life, I'll try listen to you." Jack tried to comment on that, but Hatter placed her finger on his mouth, telling him to be quite. "We've been talking for to long, I should send to your cell." Jack nodded.

* * *

Hatter heard the sound of trumpets, and turned her gaze away from Alice and Jack. The Queen was here, right on time.

"Have you gone mad Hatter? Why have you started the ceremony without me? I thought I was to condemn the first trader to death." She demanded.

"I'm not a trader Your Majesty, she is!" Jack handed Alice the scroll of paper that Hatter knew he had.

"Check the execution list Your Highness, she's filled in your name last." Jack didn't risk looking at Hatter as he said this, he knew that if he did he would end up breaking character. All of them watched as The Queen read the list. Hatter held her breath, but kept a still face.

"Hatter, I must banish you to that land beneath from which the is no return!" The Queen said in an emotionless voice.

"Your Highness wait!" Alice said quickly. "Hatter you don't have to be a bully. Come home to me."

Jack glanced at Hatter, dropping his facade for a moment. They had underestimated how good Alice really was. Jack tried to say something, but his voice wouldn't work.

"Yes", Hatter said, thinking quickly. "Yes, Alice I want that. Take my hand."

Alice approached her alter ego and took her hand. Hatter knew that she had to act fast if this was going to work. She pulled Alice to her and taking a small dagger out from her pocket and holding it to Alice's throat.

"If I have to live in eternal torment then so must you. We'll be together forever." Jack realized what Hatter wanted him to do. He noticed that The Caterpillar and The Cheshire Cat had appeared in the doorway. He gave them a desperate look, hoping that they understood what they needed to do.

"Hatter!" They shouted. Hatter turned her head in their direction, looking like she was letting her guard down for a moment.

Jack pulled Alice away from Hatter's grip and grabbed Hatter's wrists. The two pretended to struggle as Jack shouted: "Banish her now!"

Hatter's last look of Wonderland was drowned out by a dark mist. Jack was holding her arm tightly. This was it! They were leaving Wonderland.

It's true that no one in their right mind would choose to spend the rest of their life in the word beneath Wonderland. It was a dark empty prison of a world, and it was said that no one could truly be happy there.

But Hatter and Jack would be happy as long as they were together. They could make the best of having to spend the rest of their lives in this wasteland. They were willing to give up the lives that they could have had back in Wonderland.

After all, the course of true love never did run smooth.


End file.
